I ordered it on July 22nd and received it on August 13th.

The install was a bit of a pain mostly due to Mercedes however there are a few things that can be done to the AWE exhaust to make things easier.

First, the new exhaust has nuts and bolts that need to bolt into the first hanger directly after the flex pipe. Dealing with both nuts and bolts are a bit of a pain. If the bolts were welded to the exhaust like the OEM one is, it would save a couple curse words.

Second, the exhaust droops down to the cross member. It will cause vibrations in the car if not dealt with. The only thing I can think of is maybe place detentes along the connection points to help in making sure this doesn't happen. Until then, you have to shove it up as hard as you can while tightening the surrounding bits. Eventually I was able to create about a cm gap.

I recommend having a partner. There would have been much more cursing if not for the help. It took about 3 hours.

Here is a video I slapped together of the end result.

 

Sorry to hear about all the PIA stuff but it sounds awesome! Love what you did with the exhaust pipes protruding out a bit looks awesome. Is that part of the awe package or another mod?

 

You had me worried. I went out to make sure they weren't loose. That's OEM from the factory.

 

Hmm mine are flush to the rear diffuser. Unless I'm smoking crack ill double check lol

 

That's odd. I think the camera perspective makes it seem to stick out more than it actually does. But it definitely sticks out.

 

You have a noticeable spacer surrounding the exhaust which is defi not on mine

 

I stand corrected I do have the same setup I guess from afar it looks flush but its identical to yours. I think your right camera makes it look more aggressive


I just learned something new about my car haha

 

Very nice and thorough real world review of the exhaust. I installed the touring edition 2weeks ago and I love the difference it makes even if its just about 10% louder, the exhaust is much throatier and the wastegate upshift farting is much more pronounced now and is guaranteed to happen on every upshift at WOT.

Also, have you noticed that the car shifts at a slightly higher rpm now after the install? The car is definitely more powerful on the top end now and I think it kinda hangs there slightly longer than stock after the install

 

I haven't driven it enough quite yet to realize those sorts of differences. The one thing I have noticed however is that the backfires happen as early as 2k RPM now.

 

Any drone at highway speeds just cruising along?

 

Oddly enough there is very little drone at highway speeds (70mph) which was important to me since I do primarily highway driving. On inclines there is a tad but as someone that is sensitive to it, I can say its livable. There is a pretty decent amount of drone however when cruising 40-50 mph. To the point where if you are trying to carry on a conversation its a bit irritating. I drive in comfort mode for the most part so over the next week I'll check to see if the higher RPMs of S# will clear that up.

So far I would say im about 70% happy. The drone is more than I would have hoped for. If I cant get over it, i'll probably purchase the rear mufflers.

 

There's still drone even with the touring edition. But that's because I Am Really really sensitive to it.

 

I would say im 80% happy with it, I wish it was a tad louder lol I am most impressed with all the desired exhaust sounds being throatier and slightly louder but most of all, it is more predictable and more controllable than the stock setup. I remember the stocks not farting on the upshifts and not backfiring on the downshifts and it only happened half of the time, now, the exhaust grunts, snaps, crackles, and pops at specific rpms and its alot more fun being able to control when how and what to hear when I want to hear it

 

That's crazy you are still getting drone with the touring. I wouldn't have expected that. I guess I wont waste money getting the mufflers than.

The track edition would probably not leave you wanting more volume. If you get on it hard in S+ the backfires would probably scare someone that you were driving by. My smiles per gallon have shot up drastically. That drone though..

 

Exhaust is rattling against the cross member again. I am about to have to jack it up for the 3rd time to keep it off the cross member. There is a weld exactly where the cross member is. If that weld were 1 inch earlier or 1 inch later it would give me a couple more mm of clearance.

 

Yes! Sometimes when I'm driving through some of the rougher neighborhoods I try to build up a loud backfire crackle and see if anyone thinks its a driveby

 

Adding dynamat to the wheel well and boot floor helps a lot to reduce the drone... About 80% drone reduction ..
It's super easy to do your self and low cost....

I personally have done the whole car with dynamat, foam and low density sheeting...
but I love quiet highway driving and then a little character under load..
All it it knocked a boy 4-6 dB off the cruise noise level.. Added perhaps 5kg to the car but I lost twice that in the muffler mod (magnaflows)..

Hope that's helpful...

 

That is quite a bit. Not a bad place to add weight either, low and over the rear axles.

 

That's a bit of a concern with the rattles and droning especially with the their technology that's supposed to eliminate the droning. I'm getting my touring edition installed this week, let you know if those are issues.

 

The rattles are partially my fault. I should have given more clearance between the exhaust and cross member. After my second adjustment I didn't account for any settling. My last adjustment however I'm confident it won't rattle any longer. If I had a lift I probably would not have had any complaints at all.

 

I had mine installed at AWE's facility in Horsham PA and there is zero rattles just alot of crackles and gargles :P i too have the touring exhaust and there is drone still at 1850-2800rpm while cruising

 

Drone that high kinda sucks. So at highway speeds on long drives you get that waaaaaaah Infiniti hollow sound? I think I'm going to hold out until I get the nerve to have an adjustable setup fabbed.

 

Not as high pitched. Just a very uniform constant deep hum until i either punch it for it to roar or let go and listen to my runflats. Which btw, I can't wait for it to wear out so I can put on some MPSS

 

No kidding.

 

You live in PA why not just get the MPSS for summer and run the run flats during the winter?